Sweet, Mellow, Nutty, Roasted Rosemary Garlic

It was in the late 80's on a brisk fall day, just a week before Thanksgiving I was shopping for groceries. On the shelf were a small set of beautiful dishes that caught my attention. I stopped a minute to admire them and had wondered what I could use them for, when a woman approached me and started a conversation. She asked me if I knew what the dishes were used for and I told her that I had no idea. She said: "They are dipping bowls; Have you ever eaten roasted garlic?" I replied: "no; thinking that this woman must be a nut!" She preceded to tell me that I was missing out and roasted garlic was delicious!" I wound up buying the dishes because I loved them and she convinced me that I needed to go home and roast me some garlic. I have been roasting it ever since. If you have never tried roasted garlic, you should! Roasted garlic has an inviting aroma that makes your mouth water. It's the delicious, sweet nutty flavor of roasted garlic that draws the soul providing a welcoming, nurturing environment. This tutorial will show you how to roast garlic and why it is such a valued food item among many.

Step 1: Ingredients

What you will need:

• 1/2 to 1 Garlic bulb per person
• 1 Rosemary sprig
• Parsley
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil ( I read where extra virgin olive oil is the best kind to use.) I usually buy it but the store was out and I needed some olive oil.
• French Bread
• Lemon

Step 2: Utensils

This is what you will need:

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Baking dish
• Tin foil
• Bowl
• Fork
• Butter knife
• Oven
• Pot holder
• Tooth pick

Step 3: Chop Herbs

Method:

• Wash the parsley
• Chop the parsley
• Wash the rosemary
• Remove a few leaves from the rosemary
• Chop a few of the leaves reserving some whole leaves

Step 4: Preparations

Method:

• Carefully remove dry skins from the garlic.
• Cut the top off the garlic as shown.
• With a tooth pick poke holes in the garlic.
• Poke the whole rosemary leaves into the garlic holes as shown.
• Wrap the garlic in tin foil.
• Douse with olive oil.
• Add a few sprigs of rosemary in with the garlic, covering with olive oil.
• Close the tin foil securely.
• Wait 15 minutes before placing it in the oven.

Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees.
The reason you wait 15 minutes before you bake the garlic is to allow all the nutritional benefits of the garlic to release so when you bake it . . . . the heat does not destroy the nutrients in the roasting process. I have a link that will explain this in step 9.

Step 5: Roast

Slow roasting:
Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours checking after 1 hour.

Please note:  I reduced the heat from the recipe as not to destroy the nutrients but my son mentioned to me that he cooks roasted garlic at 200 degrees for 15 minutes and then browns it after removing the foil.  Mine did not look done after an hour so I cooked it longer.  I wanted to mention this because it is best to cook it just until done so you don't loose the vitamins. I have never roasted garlic at such a low temp before.   

Step 6: Remove Foil

Browning:

• Remove foil and add salt and pepper.
• Bake another 15 to 20 minutes uncovered to brown.

Step 7: Remove From Oven and Cool

Method:

• Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
• Carefully remove the garlic from the dry skin.
• Reserve the olive oil and put it in a dipping dish.

I am sorry I did not get a picture for this process.

• You need to mix the garlic until smooth.
• Set aside.

Step 8: Prepare Bread

Cutting the bread:

• Cut the french bread lengthwise.
• Place it in the oven to toast.
• Remove from the oven when brown.
• Cut the bread in strips as shown.

Step 9: Final Touches

Almost done:

• Spread the garlic on the bread.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
• Sprinkle with Chopped rosemary leaves.

Serve the french bread hot with a side dish of olive oil for dipping.
Serve with lemon water and a parsley sprig.
This will help prevent bad breath.

Step 10: Important Facts

I added this step for two reasons. One I wanted to point out the health benefits of eating garlic and two I am entering a chemical reaction contest and need to describe the chemical reaction involved in this Instructable. This has been a challenging experience but I was very excited when I began my research, because I learned a lot of very important facts about garlic. Garlic has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. There are many benefits to eating garlic like: garlic neutralizes free radicals, lowers blood pressure, and has anti cancer benefits to name a few. If a person has health issues they need to talk to their doctor before consuming garlic because it can reduce the effect of medication and cause the blood to thin.

If you cannot tolerate raw garlic, add chopped garlic towards the end of the cooking time to retain maximum flavor and nutrition. Too much heat for too long will reduce the activity of the health-promoting sulfur compounds that have formed by letting it sit for 5-10 minutes; it will also make garlic bitter. I have included the link I found this information here:

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=60&tname=foodspice.

Quote: "The NCI notes that chopping, crushing or damaging garlic bulbs produces allicin, an active ingredient that forms bioactive compounds. Keep this in mind when roasting garlic, and lightly crush garlic bulbs with the flat side of a knife or other utensil before roasting. Kraus also notes that you should crush garlic bulbs at room temperature and let them sit for around 15 minutes before cooking. The enzyme reaction triggered by letting crushed garlic sit boosts garlic's healthy compounds, says Kraus."Here is the link:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/274410-roasted-garlic-nutritional-information/#ixzz1chzJMpum http://www.livestrong.com/article/274410-roasted-garlic-nutritional-information/.

The bad and ugly about garlic:

Garlic gives you bad breath because the odorous molecules in garlic are sulfur compounds. These interact with the bacteria that is already in the mouth and create odor. Bad breath is caused by the volatile sulfur compounds that feed the anaerobic bacteria. Garlic actually promotes the growth of some of the microbes in your mouth that already cause bad breath, which makes the problem worse.

To reduce the odor of bad breath eat a fresh lemon wedge with a little bit of sugar or eat a few parsley sprigs. Drink lemon water.
You can reduce the odor of garlic on the hands by touching objects made of iron, perspiration from skin causes the iron atoms to gain two electrons. The doubly negative iron atoms react with oil in skin, causing them to decompose, forming 1-octen-2-one.

HEALTH HAZARD:
This is probably the most serious risk associated with garlic. Its sulphurous nature makes it a prime breeding ground for botulism (clostridium botulinum). Botulism is a nasty toxin that can result in major stomach illness sometimes leading to death.
The worst danger from botulism comes if raw garlic is stored in oil at room temperature - or even for too long in the refridgerator. Never store raw garlic in oil at room temperature.

Please read this entire article. I am so glad I did this research because I had some garlic in my fridge that I could have gotten very sick from eating. I was not aware of this. I usually don't buy chopped garlic but one day in a hurry I decide to get some. This article might have saved me from getting very very sick. Here is the link: http://www.garlic-central.com/dangers.html.

Step 11: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

It has been a while since I have made roasted garlic. Oh what a wonderful delight! Did you notice the pretty bowl that I had the olive oil in? My dear sister gave these to me last summer. She happens to be a member here on instructables and I just had to use these pretty little bowls for this Instructable so she knows I use them and love them so much! I hope this tutorial has been interesting and informative. I also hope it inspires you to put on your apron and make some delicious roasted rosemary garlic for your family!

Thank you for visiting and have a beautiful fall day!
Sunshiine